Psalms49

¹To the choirmaster . A Psalm of the Sons of Korah . Hear this , all peoples ! Give ear , all inhabitants of the world ,

²both low and high , rich and poor together !

³My mouth shall speak wisdom ; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding .

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb ; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre .

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble , when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

⁶those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches ?

⁷Truly no man can ransom another , or give to God the price of his life ,

⁸for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice ,

⁹that he should live on forever and never see the pit .

¹⁰For he sees that even the wise die ; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others .

¹¹Their graves are their homes forever , their dwelling places to all generations , though they called lands by their own names .

¹²Man in his pomp will not remain ; he is like the beasts that perish .

¹³This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts . Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol ; death shall be their shepherd , and the upright shall rule over them in the morning . Their form shall be consumed in Sheol , with no place to dwell .

¹⁵But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol , for he will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becomes rich , when the glory of his house increases .

¹⁷For when he dies he will carry nothing away ; his glory will not go down after him.

¹⁸For though, while he lives , he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

¹⁹his soul will go to the generation of his fathers , who will never again see light .

²⁰Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish .